On March 9, 2013, President Monaco attended the 37th annual Region IV Science Fair at Somerville High School . The Region IV Fair covers much of northeastern Massachusetts, including Tufts University’s host communities of Medford and Somerville. The fair brings together more than 200 high school science students who have already won their local competitions in Medford, Somerville, Cambridge, Lexington, Belmont and other nearby communities.

Tufts has been a sponsor for several years, helping to defray Somerville’s costs for hosting the fair and sending our faculty and graduate students to serve as judges. President Monaco has enjoyed attending the fair, talking with high school students and their parents and sharing his journey to becoming a distinguished geneticist.

This year, Chemistry Senior Lecturer Sergiy Kryatov and Physics and Astronomy Professor/Interim Chair William Oliver served as judges along with graduate students from the education, biomedical engineering and biology departments.

In 2012, Tufts first offered a $250 prize to the highest scoring Somerville or Medford scientist. President Monaco was on hand to present this year’s award to Nicole Gouveia of Somerville High School for her research on Kefir Fermentation. Last year’s winner of the Tufts prize, Erica Budina from Medford High School, was the top winner in this year’s fair.

President Anthony Monaco presents the Tufts Prize to Nicole Gouveia of Somerville.(Emily Zilm for Tufts University)

On Nov. 29, Tufts President Anthony Monaco took a break from on-campus meetings to read a picture book, learn about the alphabet and sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” in an afternoon he called “the best hour he spent all week.” As a special guest during a Jumpstart session at The Open Center for Children in Somerville, President Monaco observed first-hand the passionate, hands-on work that a group of ambitious Tufts students take part in.

Jumpstart at Tufts is hosted by the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, and the program recruits and trains Tufts students to lead early childhood education programs at local preschools. As the website explains, Tufts students are trained to help young students with their “language, literacy, social and initiative skills,” while also receiving comprehensive training in child development and educational practices. On a national level, Jumpstart has succeeded in placing volunteers in preschools in low-income neighborhoods, and the organization has trained more than 20,000 volunteers since 1993.

President Monaco thoroughly enjoyed his time in the classroom, participating in some of the educational activities and observing the bright, engaging and friendly Tufts students as they commanded the classroom with poise. Check out some photos from the afternoon below:

On Sept. 25, more than 2,000 of our neighbors from Medford and Somerville gathered on the Academic Quad for the ninth annual Community Day celebration. The day featured free food; exhibits and activities by Tufts and community groups; tips on safety and fire prevention by police and fire departments; music and dance performances by student groups; and arts and crafts activities for kids. Check out the scene from the day: